In 2015, a series of protests at the University of Missouri related to race, workplace benefits and leadership resulted in the resignation of the president of the University of Missouri System and the chancellor of the flagship Columbia campus. The moves came after a series of events which included a hunger strike by a student and a boycott by the football team.
Background
In 2010, two white students were arrested for dropping cotton balls in front of the Gaines/Oldham Black Culture Center,[2][not in citation given] and in 2011 a student was given probation for racially charged graffiti in a student dormitory.[3] The events led to the creation of a diversity initiative called "One Mizzou" under former chancellor Brady Deaton, which fizzled out.[4][5]
On September 12, 2015, a Facebook post[6] by the student government president Payton Head complained of bigotry and anti-gay sentiment around the college campus, which gained widespread attention.[7][8] He claimed that in an incident off campus, unidentified people in the back of a passing pickup truck directed racial slurs at him. "For those of you who wonder why I'm always talking about the importance of inclusion and respect, it's because I've experienced moments like this multiple times at THIS university, making me not feel included here." Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin called the incident "totally unacceptable" on September 17.
Protests
The first student protests occurred on September 24, at an event called "Racism Lives Here," where protestors claimed nothing had been done to address Head's concerns. On October 1, a second "Racism Lives Here" event was held with 40-50 participants.[9][10]
An incident involving a drunken student on October 4 gave rise to more racial tensions. While an African American student group, the Legion of Black Collegians, was preparing for homecoming activities, a white student walked on stage and was asked to leave, as this event was strictly for black students only. Supposedly, while departing the premises the student said, "these niggers are getting aggressive with me", according to the LBC.[11] This prompted chancellor Loftin, traveling outside the US, to record a video message in response and to release a statement which said, "Racism and all prejudice is heinous, insidious and damaging to Mizzou... That is why all of us must commit to changing the culture at this university."[12] Later that month, the student group "Concerned Student 1950" was created, referring to the first year the University of Missouri admitted black students.
On October 24,[13] a police officer responding to a property damage complaint reported that an unknown vandal had smeared feces in the shape of a swastika on a bathroom wall in a residence on campus.[13][14] The university's Department of Residential Life filed photographs of the fecal smear in a hate crime incident report, and the residential life director emailed a number of people on campus, including a Hillel organization, to request information about anti-Semitic activity on campus.[15]The investigator in the university’s Title IX office, noted in an email that the swastika may have been "meant to offend and threaten a larger population of our campus community in addition to Jewish students.”[15]
On November 3, student Jonathan Butler launched a hunger strike, vowing not to eat until the president resigned.[16] One of Butler's stated reasons for this was that Wolfe's car had "hit"[17] him during a protest against Wolfe the school's homecoming parade[18] when the president was confronted by a group of students who had linked arms in front of the vehicle, although video showed that Butler advanced towards the front of the vehicle and that there was minimal contact.[17] No police charges were filed in connection to the incident.[19][20]
His statement said, "Mr. Wolfe had ample opportunity to create policies and reform that could shift the culture of Mizzou in a positive direction but in each scenario he failed to do so." Butler later cited his participation in the Ferguson protests against the 2014 shooting of Michael Brown as a major influence for his action.[21]
On November 7, with hundreds of prospective students flooding Mizzou's campus for the university's recruiting day, student protestors intervened with a "mock tour" where they recited racist incidents that occurred at MU beginning in 2010 with the dispersion of cotton balls on the lawn of the Gaines/Oldham Black Culture Center along with more recent events such as the use of racial epithets against two young women of color outside of the MU Student Recreation Complex.[22]
On November 8, black football players announced they would not practice or play until Wolfe resigns, possibly costing the university a fine of $1 million if they had to forfeit an upcoming game against Brigham Young University.[23] The South Eastern Conference Football Commissioner issued a statement saying, "I respect Missouri’s student-athletes for engaging on issues of importance and am hopeful the concerns at the center of this matter will be resolved in a positive manner."[24] The Mizzou Athletic Department previously indicated that it fully supported the players’ actions.[25]
Loss of health insurance for grad students
One of Butler's reasons for his hunger strike was "graduate students being robbed of their health insurance."[26] In August 2015, the university had issued a statement to graduate students which said, "The Affordable Care Act prevents employers from giving employees money specifically so they can buy health insurance on the individual market. Graduate teaching and research assistants are classified as employees by the IRS, so they fall under this ruling."[27][28][29] Conservatives criticized the protesters for blaming the loss of insurance on the university instead of on Obamacare.[30][31][32]
Resignations
Wolfe issued a statement on November 8 implying that he would not step down and that he was "dedicated to ongoing dialogue to address these very complex, societal issues as they affect our campus community."[33]
Reactions
Tim Tai, a student photographer on assignment for ESPN, asserts his First Amendment right to film in a public place, while student activist groups confront him. Video by Mark Schierbecker.[39]
After the announcement of the resignations, there was a widely publicized dispute between photojournalist Tim Tai and protesters on Carnahan Quad, where they had erected an encampment. While attempting to cover the event on a freelance assignment for ESPN, he got into a debate and was physically confronted by students and those who would later be identified as University of Missouri staff and faculty.[40] Video of the incident where Tai debated first amendment rights to be in the public area was recorded by student Mark Schierbecker and became widely distributed and commented on in the mainstream media.
The day after the incident, with Tai getting support from the Missouri Lieutenant Governor Peter Kinder and others, and Concerned Student 1950 put up fliers calling the confrontation between journalists and protesters a "Teachable Moment," and directing the students to welcome the media to campus as a way to tell the story of the protests. The student group also removed signs previously put up warning the media to stay away from the student encampments.[41] Three University of Missouri employees involved in the altercation subsequently apologized, one of them, Melissa Click (whose call for "some muscle" to remove Schierbecker from the scene had received wide attention due to the video), resigning from her courtesy appointment at theMissouri School of Journalism.[42][43]
The days after the resignation announcement resulted in some confusion, cancelled classes and reports of threats and suspicious activity. On the evening of November 10, there were reports of vehicles and unidentified individuals around campus posing a threat.[44]
That night, Head made an alarming Facebook post that he would later rescind. He stated, "Students please take precaution. Stay away from the windows in residence halls. The KKK has been confirmed to be sighted on campus. I'm working with the MUPD, the state trooper and the National Guard." Major Brian Weimer with the school's police department responded by saying, "There is no Ku Klux Klan on campus." Weimer also said that the National Guard was not on campus. Head apologized, saying on Facebook, "I'm sorry about the misinformation that I have shared through social media."[45]
On November 11, 2015, the Columbia campus officially remained open, though many individual classes were cancelled after threats on social media and by phone.[46] During a meeting between the Missouri Legislative Black Caucus and student activists, University of Missouri police reported that an anonymous caller phoned in a threat to the Oldham Black Culture Center.[47][48]
One professor, Dale Brigham, was at the center of controversy when he chose to administer an exam for Nutritional Science 1034, saying, "If you don’t feel safe coming to class, then don’t come to class... I will be there, and there will be an exam administered in our class," while allowing students an option to take a make up exam. After some students complained that the professor was not taking the threats seriously, Brigham apologized and offered his resignation, saying, "If my leaders think that my leaving would help, I am all for it. I made a mistake, and I do not want to cause further harm." However, a report later that day said that the university did not accept the resignation.[49][50]
Gus T. Ridgel, one of the nine African-American students enrolled into the University of Missouri in 1950, "was surprised and disappointed by the racist incidents at the university that prompted a campus upheaval." [51]
Related protests
The University of Missouri events inspired other protests or indications of solidarity at other campuses in the United States. Among these were Ithaca College,[52] Yale University, Smith College and Claremont McKenna College.[53]
On November 13 the dean of students at Claremont McKenna College stepped down, after student protesters adopted similar tactics to those in Missouri, including a hunger strike.[54][55]
Interim president appointment
On the evening of November 12, the governing board of the University of Missouri decided in a closed-door meeting to nameMichael Middleton, a law professor and deputy chancellor emeritus as the interim president. Middleton, a 1968 graduate of the university and the third African American to graduate from its law school, recently retired from the university after 30 years.[56][57]
Politicians
Several presidential candidates expressed their opinion about the resignation of school officials.
- Donald Trump said, "I think the two people that resigned are weak, ineffective people," adding, "I think that when they resigned they set something in motion that's going to be a disaster for a long period of time."[58]
- Ben Carson said, "People are so frightened of the politically correct police that they're willing to do things that are irrational to appease them... If they continue to capitulate all the time, we're going to be pushed further into secular progressive philosophy. You have to be brave in order to be free."[58]
- Marco Rubio said, "Freedom of speech on campuses seems to be under assault in some of the supposedly finest institutions in this country... In the case of Missouri, I'm still trying to figure out exactly what it is that got the president fired."[58]
- Bernie Sanders said in a Twitter update, "I'm listening to the #BlackOnCampus conversation. It's time to address structural racism on college campuses."[58]
- Jeb Bush said, "As I understand it, [Tim Wolfe] didn't respond to legitimate concerns of acts of racism on campus, and may have missed an opportunity to try and heal the wounds and give people the sense that the university had no tolerance for that... I don't know, I haven't followed it that carefully so I can't say if his resignation was appropriate or not."[59]
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